Free Online Qigong

In addition to our regular weekly sessions, we usually host two or three seminars each year. A favourite guest instructor is Feixia Yu of the UCLAN Confucius Institute who will be returning for a Saturday afternoon Qigong session later in the year. Feixia is an accomplished practitioner and brilliant instructor, but you don't need to take our word for it, you can find out yourself by joining one of her free twice weekly online sessions.

Details of the sessions are on the poster below which links to a YouTube video which, if you click it, will lead you to a demonstration of some of the exercises Feixia will be covering at the online sessions.

11 March 2022

No Class Saturday 12th March

We will be closed on Saturday 12th March because the church are using the Auditorium.

All classes at other locations are unaffected and will be open as usual. Normal Saturday service will be resumed the following weekend (Saturday 19th March)

2 March 2022

Free UCLAN Ba Duan Jin Seminar

In addition to our own regular weekly classes, we try to run a few seminars with guest instructors each year. One of our favourite guests is the wonderful Feixia Yu who is offering a free face to face session next Thursday 10th March, where she'll be running through the Ba Duan Jin Qigong routine. I can't recommend this session enough. Here are full details of the session and how to get involved...

I will be delivering a workshop on Baduanjin at sir Tom Finney Sports Centre from 2-3pm on Thursday the 10th of March.

Most of you will be fairly familiar with Baduanjin already. Classic Baduanjin Qigong is also sometimes called Mini Tai Chi. It is an ancient and most widely practiced wellness exercise from China. It consists of eight simple movements of gentle to medium intensity, making it easy to learn, and suitable for all ages and all levels of fitness. The routine synchronises deep breathing with gentle twisting and mindful control of the body, making it an ideal mindfulness exercise for physical and mental health.

In this one-hour workshop, we will be able to go into more details of the movements and their functions. I will also be able to help you make minor corrections to the movements so your practice is more effective. The event is totally free and you only need to book your place at Eventbrite, please click the image below:

6 February 2022

A weekend well spent!

Saturday 5th February saw us gather for our Chinese New Year celebrations in the form of a 3 hour seminar looking at the first 15 movements of Xin Jia with the fantastic Michael Singleton from White Tiger Northwest.

The seminar broke the form down one movement at a time and Michael's friendly and accessible teaching style meant that everyone present came away wiser, regardless of whether they had prior knowledge of the form or not.

After a couple of hours break we reconvened at The Guild pub in Preston for a couple of drinks before heading down the road to the wonderful Tang KTV restaurant for a fantastic banquet. After the last couple of years in varying degrees of lockdowns and restrictions, it was lovely to be able to gather together as a group and celebrate again.

1 February 20221 February 2022

恭喜发财 Gōngxǐ Fācái

Gōngxǐ Fācái

恭喜发财

Happy New Year to one and all!

Just a quick reminder that we’re gathering at The Guild pub on Fylde Road, Preston for a drink or two before heading to Tang Chinese Restaurant for a glorious banquet on Saturday night to see in the Year of The Tiger.

If you want to join us head to the seminar page and book your place, just make sure you’ve signed up by Friday so we know numbers.

22 January 2022

Tai Chi, Qigong and Covid

There have been a number of clinical studies which demonstrate that Tai Chi and Qigong can be helpful in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of people suffering from respiratory diseases such as Asthma and COPD. Researchers now believe that the benefits of both disciplines can also help people avoid and recuperate from Covid 19.

The Article from Wisconsin Tai Chi Academy linked below pulls together some of this research and explains how Tai Chi and Qigong can help people to avoid and recuperate from Covid.

Wisconsin Tai Chi Academy - Tai Chi & Qigong Could Help Prevent, Treat & Rehabilitate COVID-19

17 January 2022

Celebration of the Year of the Tiger

After 2 long years, this year sees the return of our Chinese New Year celebrations in the form of an afternoon seminar followed by a Chinese Banquet in the evening.

We'll be joined by Michael Singleton from White Tiger Northwest for an afternoon practicing the first 15 movements of Xin Jia at Valley Church in Bamber Bridge 1 - 4pm.

In the evening we'll regroup in Preston for a Banquet at Tang Chinese Restaurant on Fylde Road.

This is always a popular event and the ongoing Covid pandemic means places will be limited this year, so to reserve a place at the seminar, the meal or both visit the seminar bookings page

29 November 2021

A Saturday afternoon well spent...

Last Saturday 27th November saw us welcome guest speaker Feixia Yu of the UCLAN Confucius Institute for an afternoon of Qigong.

The afternoon was dedicated to the ancient Shaolin Qigong sequence known as Yi Jin Jing. The English translation of the name is "change muscles and sinews" and the sequence can be challenging, with deep stretches and difficult to maintain postures. As with most Qigong, it can be practised in a less strenuous form for health purposes and Feixia made sure that everyone was able to challenge themselves individually, regardless of their experience. The group, aided by periodic breaks for custard creams and green tea, worked really hard and, judging by the smiles on the faces at the end, everybody had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

We hope to welcome Feixia back for another session in the New Year so keep an eye on our Seminars page for updates about planned events next year.

18 November 202118 November 2021

The Physiological Effects of Tai Chi and Mental Imagery

We regularly talk about the importance of visualisations to assist in training the conscious mind to access the subconscious processes of the body during practice.

The following research, whilst limited to diabetes sufferers, highlights the real physiological effects that mental imagery can generate. It's quite a dry read (it's a research paper after all!), but the abstract and conclusion are worth reading even if the body of the paper is a little more information than you require.

The private Facebook group where I initially found the research offered this summary:

"We did study at Loma Linda University Drayson Center: An 8 week class, twice a week. There were two groups: one of normal older adults and the other, Diabetics with Neuropathy. The curriculum taught was exactly the same as that taught to new students.

After completing 8 weeks of classes, all the students had a significant reduction in blood pressure. A Previous study on this group demonstrated a significant improvement in the balance of all participants.

Curriculum taught by Harvey Kurland, MSc, MFS, CSCS, Certified Instructor with the assistance of Myra Allen, Instructor."

8 November 20218 November 2021

Just a few weeks until we welcome the wonderful Feixia Yue from the UCLan Confucius Institute for an afternoon studying the ancient Shaolin Yi Jin Jing Qigong sequence.

The seminar is taking place at St. Aidan's Church Hall in Bamber Bridge and starts at 1pm on Saturday 27th October. In order to maintain social distancing places at the seminar are limited, however there are still a couple of spaces left. If you'd like to grab one of them, head over to the Seminars page to book your place.

If you haven't encountered the Yi Jin Jing before, the video below features Master Faye Yip, president of the British Health Qigong Association, performing a truncated version of the form.